Attachment for fiber-lapping machines.



no. s251364; I Y Y Patented luiyflQisss.

` w, fr. HuaLEy. l y

TTCHIEHT FDR FlBERKLFPmE MACHINES.

{Applicatian led Lpr. 7, 1899.)

(lo Model.)

UNITED STATES f PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM T I-IURLE'Y, or KIIvIEsvILLE, NORTH CAROLINA.

ATTACHMENT FOR FIBER-LAPPING MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 629,164,6.ated July 18, 1899.

Application ma April 7, 1899. sean No. 712,101. naman.

To ctZZ whom t m'ctyooncern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM T. HURLEY, of Kimesville, in the county of Guilford and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attachments for Fiber-Lapping Machines, of which l the following Yis a specilicati'on.

device substantially aslhereinafter described- This invention relates to machines for open ing, cleaning, and lapping fibrous material,

such as cotton, and has particular reference to the machines used in the first process of manufacturing lcotton goods by meansv of' which the cotton from the bale is opened and beaten and carried by currents of air to a screen cylinder or cylinders -preparatory to being formed into a lap. With such machines as heretofore most commonly employed the fibers are not collected upon the screen or cage rolls with the most desirable uniformity and smoothness and what are known as split laps 7 are produced, causing twaste and laborV and uneven work by the carding-machine- The object of my invention is to produce an attachment capable of being applied to any lappingnnachine of any size or make without alteration or modification thereof, which attachment will insure the laying of the fibers evenly and uniformly upon the screen or cage rolls, so as to cause the formation Vof a smoothv lap that will unwind without sticking when being run intothe carding-machiue.

To this end my invention consists in the and claimed.

In the drawings which accompanyand form( part of this specification, Figure l represents a section and part side elevation of so much of one form of a lapping-machine embodying my invention as is necessary to explain. the

construction and utility ofsaid invent-ion. Fig. 2 represents a perspective view ofthe toothed strip and the lower screen or cage roll shown in Fig. 1', portions of the grid-bars or trunk-floor being also represented in p'e'rspec-- tive.

A portion of the frame of the machine is represented at ct, and b represents the beater, c the trunk, d CZ the lower and upper screen or cage rolls, and e the trunk-floor or l gridbars. All of these parts are or may be con# st ructed accordingto any-of the-wellknown machines for opening and preparing fibrous material for a carding-machine, and the operation of which is so well known that no further reference thereto is necessary than to say that the fibers are collected on the screen or roll d. n

In carrying out. my invention I cut from thin sheet metal a strip f, having a continu-' may be formed of any length, according to the machines for which they are intended, and as they a're very inexpensive a strip that is too long for a certain machine can be cut L off to the requisite length without material loss; r

' The stripf may be supported in rany suitable way by a fixed or stationary part of the machine, so that the teeth 2 will extend in the direction of rotation of the screen or cage roll and in proximity thereto, sothat the fibers as they are collected thereon vwill be straight-A ened and deposited smoothly and uniformly, the `tapering shape cf-.said teeth aiding mate riallyinattaining this result and preventing 'the formation of ridges, which would be liable tolfollow the use of teeth having square ends. Owing to the fact that the strip is a continuous one, it not only can be formed-in theeconomical manner hereinbefore described,'but

it can -besecured in position by the use of fastening devices much less innumber than the number'of teetln In the drawings, I have represented the strip as having its lower or continuous portion bent at an angle and secured to the upper surface of the portion of the trunk-floor or grid-bars adjacent to the lower screen or cage roll by screws g; but it is obvious that other fastening devices may be employed instead ofV screws and that the lower edge of the strip could be attached to the under surface of the grid-frame or lto' its edge or could be otherwise secured, according to the style of machine to which it is to ybe applied or according to individual preferf ence, Without departing from the spirit of my invention, the essential feature of which is the continuous thin metal strip having slender Itapering pointed teeth adjoining each other and projecting in a direction at right angles to the axis of rotation ofthe screen or cage With which it is used, said teeth being adapted to lay the fibers evenly and smoothly on the said roll.

Having thus explained Vthe nature of my in- Vention and having described a Way of constructing and using the saine, although Without attempting to specify all of its applications, I now declare that What I claim is A ber-evener for the screen or cage roll of a fiber-lapping machine, comprising a strip In testimony whereof I have affixed my sigi nature in presence of two Witnesses.

VILLIAM T. HURLEY. Witnesses:

H. B. CARTER, A. R. CHIsHoLM. 

